Concrete barrier walls are commonly used to redirect errant vehicles back onto a roadway. The terminal ends of such barrier walls, together with other hazards, such as trees, signs, culverts and bridge piers, may present a peril to oncoming traffic if left exposed. Accordingly, various crash barriers have been developed and used along highways to protect errant motorists from these types of hazards. Typically, such crash barriers are positioned in front of, or at the end of, the barrier wall or other hazard.
In one system, lightweight cellular concrete crash barriers have been developed for use with concrete barrier walls. Such end treatments, however, may be susceptible to water degradation due to their “open-cell” nature. Other systems have incorporated fiberglass and/or foamed polyurethane cartridges, which may be relatively expensive to manufacture and/or susceptible to ultraviolet radiation and water absorption. Moreover, many crash cushion systems using energy absorbing cartridges incorporate relatively complex and expensive containment systems, including for example collapsible frames, often made of metal. As such, the need remains for a low cost, weather resistant crash barrier, which is easy to manufacture, install and maintain.